If you’ve been waiting anxiously for a Thunderbolt 2 accessory, good news: we have one to show you… sort of. Sonnet has announced its Echo Express SE II ($499), a Thunderbolt expansion chassis for PCIe cards.
It’ll be available on September 23, and at that time, it’ll ship with a standard Thunderbolt connection. Whenever Apple ships its new Mac Pro this fall, Sonnet will allow you to upgrade to Thunderbolt 2, for free.
Along with the chassis, you’ll get a coupon for “one free exchange for an easy-to-install upgrade to 20Gbps Thunderbolt 2”—free after shipping and handling, of course. Echo Express SE II can hold up to two half-length, full-height, single-width PCIe cards, and has two Thunderbolt ports, allowing you to daisy chain accessories.